First Through The Gate

In his long awaited, stunning solo debut, premier Irish-American fiddler, Brian Conway performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in tradition but distinctively his own. Well known in the New York Irish community. Brian has won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions, and has been called "one of the best fiddlers of his generation". Nothing is missed or missing in his Sligo style fiddling. From hop jigs to hornpipes,

from highland to slow airs, Conway preserves and passes along the best of the past, while melding it with the talent and imagination of the present.

Brian Conway's new recording on Smithsonian-Folkways offers the "Sligo-New York Style" of fiddle playing. One special moment includes three generations of fiddlers where Brian plays with former mentor Andy McGann and former student Pat Mangan. Another great moment is the set of 4 Martin wynne reels back to back. The title "First Through the Gate" refers to W.B. Yeats' poem: The Fiddler Of Dooney. Includes extensive liner notes.

Named "CD of the Year" for 2002 by the Irish Echo, the largest Irish American newspaper in the United States, this long-awaited, stunning solo debut was identified as a benchmark release. Premier Irish American fiddler Brian Conway performs with a skill, grace and force that are steeped in tradition but distinctively his own. Well known in the Irish Celtic community, Conway has won numerous All-Ireland fiddling competitions, and has been called one of the best fiddlers of his generation. Nothing is missed or missing in Brian Conway's Sligo-style fiddling. From jigs to hornpipes, and highlands to slow airs, Conway preserves and passes along the best of the past while molding it with the talent and imagination of the present.

Press Reviews

CEOL

By Earle Hitchner

[Published in Earle Hitchner's "Ceol" column in the IRISH ECHO newspaper on January 15, 2003, in New York City. Copyright Earle Hitchner. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of author.]

CD sales, including for Irish music, can generally be summed up last year in two words: slipped disks. As of late December, the number of units sold fell 9.3 percent, from 688.2 million in 2001 to 624.2 million in 2002.

Record companies put much of the blame for this decline on the downloading, file-sharing, and pirating of copyrighted music. Not surprisingly, the Recording Industry Association of America has increased its efforts to monitor these activities and prosecute transgressors. But you have to wonder how successful the RIAA will be when just recently hackers broke into its website and posted fake messages such as this: "Government bans music as final desperate attempt to control piracy."

Ironically, as mainstream music market woes deepened last year, the number of Irish traditional recordings I received for review grew exponentially. In 2001, I got roughly 300. In 2002, over 1,000 arrived from all points of the globe (farthest: from a tenor banjoist in New Zealand). Though there was inevitable mediocrity and dross among these CDs, the overall quantity of quality was encouraging.

The vast majority of the recordings I received were self-released, and half of my top 10 picks were self-released as well. It's a clear sign that established record companies, major or indie, are no longer the only recourse for musicians who know how to slap Sonex on the walls of a spare bedroom and use affordable recording equipment and computer software to create a home studio.

In this brave new world of technological advances and marketplace regresses, these 10 Irish traditional albums stood out. Over the years I've been warned many times that a top 10 list "really only sends one artist home happy." I accept the risk, partly because I dislike critical cop-outs and partly because I'm confident these choices pose no risk at all aesthetically. They're the cream of an abundant crop and belong in your music library.

Conway, Kanes Head Up Best Traditional Albums of 2002

First Through The Gate

Smithsonian Folkways Record 40481

Review by Ken Ricketts and Maya Parker

used with Permission

Brian Conway, a fiddle player born and raised in New York, is one of those rare musicians who has developed a naturally Irish way of playing without having spent long periods in Ireland. This is his first solo release made up from studio sessions over a few years. This unhurried approach to making a CD means all the tracks are top class and have a freshness and clarity which adds to enjoyment of the music. He is joined on some selections by his mentor Andy McGann and by his own pupil Pat Mangan, another New York native.

It takes a special combination of circumstances to produce a fiddler of this maturity and style, and Brian has enjoyed his fair share of help and encouragement. His first teacher was Martin Mulvihill from Limerick. Brian's other big influence was Martin Wynne, one of Sligo's best-loved sons who died in America a few years ago. As his experience and ability grew he became friends with Andy McGann, himself a native of New York but a man who in his early days met, studied with and played with some of the great names of the 78rpm era, including Michael Coleman, Lad O'Beirne, Paddy Killoran and others. Brian has stayed faithful to the style of those exiles of the past and it pleasing to report that the influences of American swing, jazz and all the other paraphernalia that are obvious in the playing of Eileen Ivers or Liz Carroll are completely absent from this record.

Kicking off with a set of reels, Brian's mastery of the instrument is immediately obvious, as is the influence of Andy McGann. Anybody who has listened to McGann's classic Shanachie LP from the '70s will recognise the master's tricks; a wonderfully light touch on the bow that emphasises the triplets and rolls and a fierce rhythm that bounces the tunes along without ever feeling hurried. What can't be learnt though is the way traditional players introduce subtle variations in ornamentation and melody. Brian Conway shows tremendous understanding of the possibilities presented by the idiom in his own use of rolls, triplets and the occasional drop to the bottom string to play a note an octave lower than normal.

The choice of tunes often has references back to those recordings that McGann made with Paddy Reynolds or Joe Burke, although they are not slavish copies. A brisker tempo than McGann's in the slip Barney Brallaghan show that Brian Conway is his own man. The McGann and Reynolds LP is also brought to mind when Conway plays a couple of duets with his guests. All three fiddlers join forces for one selection each of reels and jigs and their playing is wonderful throughout. This is a good example of how Irish music bridges the generations. There are more links with the past when Brian and Pat Mangan play four of Martin Wynne's reels. Three of these tunes are fairly well known and widely played but this is the first time the fourth has been recorded. The sleeve notes tell a nice tale of how Brian coaxed this reel out of Martin.

Mark Simos on guitar and Felix Dolan on piano provide most of the backing. Dolan's piano has graced some of the great New York recordings since the '70s and his touch is always sure and supporting. The guitar sounds very well mixed and sits comfortably against the fiddle, clear and yet never dominant.

The sleeve notes on this CD are exemplary. Running to nearly 30 pages, they give a short biography of Brian and his musical influences and each selection of tunes is supported by some brief but informative notes.

All in all this is an unassuming classic and a worthy addition to the Smithsonian catalogue. There has been no great hype to launch the CD and indeed it took several months before it was available in the British Isles. If you see a copy grab it with both hands.

Ken Ricketts & Marya Parker - 21.9.03